We had worked real hard putting personal touches on our little Cape Cod.Bryce & I put each & every cedar shingle on the exterior of our new home.
The shingles came in large bundles of different widths. We used a 5 inch reveal, which means we left 5 inches of the the shingle exposed when putting each row on. The trick was to stagger the sizes and the seams, making sure they did not line up.
The hardest part was when we were on a gable end & had to cut the shingles to match the pitch of the roof or wall we were installing them on. Dad Horn came to our rescue, showing us how to calculate the pitch.
Bryce bought his first nail gun and it was a kick to watch how fast they went up.
We love primitives and old vintage wood.
Just after our wedding, we found a funky shop in Clements, Ca., called Baja Ranch (it has since gone out of business, huge sigh!)
The shop was filled with all kinds of primitive fabulousness! We purchased 2 old newel posts, with no idea what we would use them for, but with the knowledge they would one day be some thing great!
Later while planning the new house, I mentioned that I wanted a mantel made from a vintage piece of wood, mounted on the stone facade.
Bryce walked straight to the garage with his tape measure and came back with a big silly grin.
The largest newel post would be perfect! He knew that he could refinish it and bring out the rich old patina hiding beneath the surface.
I had no idea how right his words would be!
Just look at this gorgeous piece of wonderfulness!!
The fireplace wall turned out better than either of us ever imagined. It was one of the highlights of our great room. We had spent such lovely evenings in this room.
The color on the walls is Fig Cookie by Kelly Moore Paints. LOVE IT!
See those gorgeous caramel colored floors? Those are stained concrete that we did ourselves. In our next post we will tell all about them & the antique leaded window we installed as a transom over the dining room entry, when our contractor wasn't looking!
Oh...and we'll show you our secret weapon!
